In a one-of-a-kind concept in Central Oregon, patients of all ages will soon have access to low-cost medical care at a Redmond clinic originally designed to treat only children.

Mosaic Medical, a nonprofit organization that operates clinics in Bend, Prineville and Madras, will take over operation of the clinic based at M.A. Lynch Elementary School, 1314 S.W. Kalama Ave., beginning Monday.

The facility, Lynch Community Clinic, will operate as a partnership between the Redmond School District, Mosaic and Deschutes County Health Services.

“This is a pilot that’s never been done before,” said Elaine Knobbs, director of programs and development for Mosaic. “The future of medicine involves the integration of primary care and public health, and this is one way to do that.”

The history of the clinic began in 2008, when Deschutes County Health Services and Redmond School District partnered on grants, now expiring, that would offer on-site basic health care to Redmond children on a sliding fee-scale basis.

The district provided the location, a modular classroom building next to Lynch, as well as support services such as custodial and utilities. The county ran and staffed the clinic.

“The numbers we were serving in the beginning were huge,” said Martha Hinman, executive director of student services for the Redmond School District. But since the clinic could not serve entire families, only children, there was a shift of patients to a “medical home” primary care provider that would see everyone. Patient numbers shrank at the clinic.

Another factor, Hinman added, was that as more children became eligible for Oregon’s Healthy Kids Plan, their choice of providers broadened.

“This will offer a more cohesive service for families,” said Hinman. “Lynch’s principal and nurse are very excited about the possibilities of expanding the services to families.”

Lynch operates under a community school grant, offering many before- and after-school services to kids and outreach to parents.

According to Knobbs, the Lynch clinic will offer anything patients require in the way of primary care: walk-in minor injury and illness, immunizations, sports physicals, vision screening and medication management.

An electronic patient record system will enable patients to easily use services at other Mosaic clinics, such as obstetrics or mental health.

Under the new arrangement, Mosaic is contracting with the county to keep its pediatric nurse practitioners on site, offering patients the choice of pediatric-only care on Tuesdays and Thursdays and all ages Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, with patients seen by family practice physician Dr. Chad Lowe.

“We know that when parents don’t have a culture of seeing a primary provider when they are sick — or even when healthy for preventative care — then kids don’t, either, and we really want to encourage kids to come in,” Hinman said.

Early statistics from the school-based clinic showed that having it on site reduced absenteeism among students, she said.

“The clinic has also provided value in its partnership with the school, bringing staff into classrooms to talk about health subjects like nutrition, toothbrushing or asthma,” Hinman said. “Having quicker access to medical care and follow-up has been a big help.”

The sliding scale payment system under Mosaic management will be slightly different than the county system, said Knobbs. As a Federally Qualified Health Center, the Lynch Community Clinic must meet government standards.

As for funding, the nonprofit is not operating the school-based clinic under any grant this year, but it plans to apply for some in the future.

“We’re going to learn a lot with this project,” said Knobbs. “Our board has been hearing for some time that there is a big need in the Redmond area, so we’ve budgeted the clinic for this year. It’s our mission to meet the needs of the community — especially the more vulnerable populations — so we won’t deny care to anyone. ”

Lynch Community Clinic

Opens: Monday

Where: M.A. Lynch Elementary School, 1314 S.W. Kalama Ave., Redmond.

Operators: A partnership between nonprofit Mosaic Medical, the Redmond School District and Deschutes County Health Services.